Hollywood has long made biblical movies: Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments (1956), Charlton Heston in Ben-Hur (1959), and many more. A little research shows that these films were able to achieve success financially in Hollywood, particularly during the 1940s and 50s, but in recent years religious-based movies have proven to be more controversial and not as lucrative.

Christians stay away because the films don’t adhere closely enough to the Bible, while the non-religious can view the films as less entertaining than the latest action flick. Will Darren Aronofsky’s Noah the movie, which stars Russell Crowe and comes during a year of biblical movies, change that trend?

The Bible has been a great source of subject material for movies ever since Hollywood began making films. In March of 2014, Darren Aronofsky’s epic version of Noah, the Old Testament hero whose ark saves mankind from being wiped out, will hit the theaters. But despite starring Russell Crowe as Noah and featuring a host of other headliners, including Emma Watson, Jennifer Connelly, and Anthony Hopkins, Noah has run into a number of problems during filming. The release of the first two trailers by the film company have brought the production into the spotlight, and if you are looking for a good research paper topic for your religion or film studies classes, take a peek at Noah and other uses of the Bible in film. Read more →